Wednesday, June 27, 2018

On June 27, 2018, the Honorable Michael Simon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon granted class certification and appointed Labaton Sucharow as co-class counsel in a securities class action against Precision Castparts (“PCC”), a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway that manufactures complex parts for the aerospace, industrial gas turbine and defense industries.

The action alleges that PCC made numerous false and misleading statements regarding its financial prospects, including failing to disclose that it relied on pulling-in sales from customers at the end of each quarter, was losing market share to competitors and was suffering from weakened demand for its products on a long-term basis.

Last year, the district court dismissed the defendants’ motion to dismiss, adopting in full the recommendations of U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie Beckerman who noted that plaintiffs “adequately alleged specific facts to show that PCC’s stock price was initially inflated as a result of misleading reports….and subsequently declined in response to PCC’s acknowledgements that there were mistaken assumptions and failures to communicate material information to investors.”

Labaton Sucharow, as co-lead counsel in the case, represents Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System. The Labaton Sucharow team includes partners James Johnson and Michael Rogers and associate John Esmay.